Raw dog food recipes (BARF)
BARF means raw feeding. Our recipes follow clear ratios, use calcium from eggshell instead of bone so you can start safely, and explain the hygiene and freezing that raw meat demands.
Raw dog food recipes (BARF)
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The essentials before you start a raw diet
Raw feeding carries real risks, and veterinary bodies such as WSAVA advise against feeding raw meat. If you decide to do it, do it properly; if you would rather avoid those risks, our cooked recipes use the same ingredients.
- Hygiene: raw meat can carry Salmonella or Listeria. Wash boards, bowls and hands, and take extra care if there are babies, older adults or immunocompromised people at home.
- Freeze first: at least one week at −18 °C / 0 °F reduces the risk of parasites (not bacteria: only hygiene or cooking deals with those).
- Never raw pork or wild boar: they transmit Aujeszky's disease (pseudorabies), which is fatal to dogs.
- Once cooked, it is no longer BARF: and that is fine; we have cooked recipes.
All the details, benefits and risks are in our guide to the BARF diet.
Frequently asked questions
What are the ratios in a raw (BARF) diet?
A common reference is 70-80 % muscle meat, 10 % raw meaty bone or its calcium equivalent, 5 % liver, 5 % another secreting organ such as kidney and 10-15 % blended vegetables and fruit. Our recipes replace the bone with ground eggshell.
Is a raw diet dangerous for dogs?
It has risks that need managing: bacteria in raw meat (for the people at home too), imbalances if the ratios are not respected and problems with poorly chosen bones. With good hygiene, freezing beforehand and a balanced recipe, the risk drops a great deal.
The fridge list
The foods your dog can eat, can have in moderation and must never eat, on a single printable page.